Proposal for revised Takeover Rules

The Swedish Corporate Governance Board has announced proposed revisions to the takeover rules.

The main changes in brief:

New procedural rules regarding regulatory approvals: The offeror is to withdraw the offer as soon as possible or apply for a dispensation from the Swedish Securities Council if it becomes evident that the required regulatory approvals will not have been received within the maximum nine-month acceptance period.

Right to return with a new offer – an offeror that has withdrawn its offer due to the Rules governing the maximum acceptance period and that subsequently receives the required regulatory approvals is permitted to return with a renewed offer, without prejudice to the general rule that a new offer may not be submitted within 12 months of the previous offer.

The revised rules are expected to come into effect on 1 April 2018.

The Board's press release as well as the full text of the proposed revised Takeover Rules are enclosed (clean version and compared with the 2017 version).